Quite honestly, some of the remixes of new material at Low Light Mixes, The Hypnogogue Podcast, Spacemind and others, are far more interesting ways to listen to some of the more recent releases. That's not to say that the music isn't as good, it's just that the podcasts are making more effective presentations.

What I really have enjoyed is a lot of the artists, new and well-known, that have made Bandcamp a fun place to be. It's good to see it embraced by many people here at Hypnos, and as a result, I've made a lot of great discoveries of promising artists. Much of the music featured there has also found its way into the podcasts.

So, it may not be that there isn't as much good music around today, it might just be that you should widen your net a little when choosing where to look for it.

I'm a bit reluctant to chime in because I know I have a tendency to conflate "what I've listened to recently and enjoyed" with "best of the year."

One of the "older" 2013 releases that I'm still listening to regularly and enjoying immensely is Martin Fuhs'Grauton. It definitely stands out as a unique album, at least against the background of some of the other ambient I've been enjoying. Samples: http://martinfuhs.bandcamp.com/album/grauton

I'm also still regularly playing Resonant Drifts's Full Circle. I think that came out in the tail weeks of 2012, but didn't arrive in my mailbox until early 2013. Samples: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/resonantdrift6

Oophoi's two aforementioned posthumous release are both excellent; I Hear the Wind Singing, in particular, has to rank among my favorite of Gigi's works.

Dagaz was an excellent "grower," and Grassow's untitled collab with Closing the Eternity is, as has been noted by others at several points, just sublime.

Meg Bowles' new release is a fantastic journey.

Seren Ffordd's Halo is a lovely tribute. Love how patiently it develops.

Parhelion - Temples in Ice. Only EP-length, but the sound design here is incredible.

Also, though it came out last year, I've really been digging Shrine's Somnia, released on Cyclic Law (usually, what they put out is too martial and cheesy for my tastes, but occasionally a gem comes along, like this one).

Castleview, give a try also to Amir's following two albums "Prayers For The Earth" (March 2013) and "Light Textures" (July 2013), both released as CDr editions on small German label Attenuation Circuit, highly recommended!!!

Castleview, give a try also to Amir's following two albums "Prayers For The Earth" (March 2013) and "Light Textures" (July 2013), both released as CDr editions on small German label Attenuation Circuit, highly recommended!!!

Richard

How similar would you say those albums are to The Serenity? I noticed your reviews were really positive for both of them.